A method for constructing a composite image comprises determining in an alignment between at least a first and a second image based on the content of the first and second image frames, and combining in a transform domain at least the first and second images with the determined alignment to form a composite image.
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1. A computerized method for constructing a composite image using a processor, the method comprising:
determining in an alignment between at least a first and a second image based on the content of the first and second image frames; and
combining in a discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain at least the first and second images with the determined alignment to form a composite image using a processor.
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detecting in the image domain a location of a common interesting feature in each of the first and second image frame; and
determining the alignment based on the location of the interesting feature in each of the first and second image frames.
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performing registration between preview image frames corresponding to the first and second image frames; and
determining the alignment between the first and second image frames based on the registration.
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defining an empty image frame in the DCT domain; and
positioning the first and second image frame onto the empty image frame based on the alignment.
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defining a header file with memory allocation; and
adding a stream of image data blocks from the first and second image frame to the header file.
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detecting a region including a pre-defined pattern; and
defining a stitching line that circumvents the region.
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capturing a plurality of image frames; and
selecting in the image domain, image frames from the plurality of image frames to be included in the composite image.
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This application is related to a co-pending application by Natan LINDER et al., entitled “Panoramic Image Production”, identified as Ser. No. 11/826,767, and filed on even day.
The present invention relates to constructing composite images and more particularly to constructing composite images in a transform domain.
With the technical convergence of different media forms, recent mobile devices, e.g. mobile telephones are equipped with various additional functions that offer graphics, audio and video. Mobile devices including cameras have become increasingly popular. Users may, for example capture and save one or more images in their mobile devices by a click of a button.
Due to size, power, and end cost constraints, cameras incorporated in mobile device may typically have limited resolution and/or field of view. One option for overcoming these limitations may include providing a panoramic image feature where a plurality of images may be combined to increase the field of view without compromising resolution. Such images can be created, for example, by digitally capturing, and later joining together, several sequential images. The user may, for instance, capture a first image, pan the camera to the right until a portion of the scene from the first image is viewable through the viewfinder or back panel display, capture the next image, and so on until the full scene is captured with a series of images. Captured images are typically joined using various stitching methods known in the art to form a panoramic image. Typically captured images are stored in memory in a compressed format, e.g. JPEG format.
Typically, JPEG formats employ the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) domain to save image data. Typically, the image in the image domain is converted from an RGB color space to an YCbCr color space. The image is split into blocks of 8×8 pixels, 16×16 pixels, or 8 pixels in one direction by 16 pixels in another direction. Each block is converted to a frequency space, typically using the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). Subsequently quantization is performed on the high frequency components and Huffman coding is typically applied.
The following patents and applications are generally indicative of current panoramic technology in “stand alone” cameras. The list does not purport to be exhaustive.
US20050152608 to Niemi et al. describes a method for stitching digital images using an image representation format. The image representation format includes data units represented as a Huffman-coded stream of coefficients of basis functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,626 to Toklu et al describes a method for motion tracking and constructing a mosaic of video objects as well as a method for synthetic object transfiguration from a mosaic. The disclosure of this patent is fully incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,999,662 and 6,393,163 to Burt et al. each describe a system for automatically generating a mosaic from a plurality of input images. The disclosure of this patent is fully incorporated herein by reference.
Korean patent 0286306 to Choi describes a method of panoramic photography which uses a digital still camera to connect pictures to construct a panoramic picture using an LCD monitor. The disclosure of this patent is fully incorporated herein by reference.
International application WO/2005/041564 by KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. describes a digital camera with panorama or mosaic functionality. The invention relates to an electronic device with a digital camera, and to a method of enabling to create a composite picture using a digital camera. In some embodiments, the electronic device is a mobile phone. The disclosure of this application is fully incorporated herein by reference.
There are commercially available panoramic picture technologies available for mobile phones. These technologies include, but are not necessarily limited to:
Scalado Autorama™ (Scalado AB; Sweden);
Vivid Panorama (Acrodea; Tokyo; Japan); and
PanoMan™ (Bit Side Technologies; Berlin; Germany).
United States Patent Application 2004136603 to Vitsnudel et al. describes a method for enhancing wide dynamic range in images while the images are in JPEG format. The method comprises: acquiring at least two images of a scene to be imaged, constructing a combined image using image data of pixels of the first image and image data of pixels of the other images proportional to the weight values assigned to each pixel using a defined illumination mask. In some embodiments the acquired images are in JPEG format, the JPEG format including a DCT transform domain. The disclosure of this patent is fully incorporated herein by reference.
An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to constructing in a transform domain, e.g. a DCT domain, a composite image from a plurality of captured image frames. The plurality of image frames and/or portions of one or more image frames may be stitched and/or juxtaposed to one another to create a composite image including subject matter and/or content from two or more image frames of the plurality of image frames. In some exemplary embodiments, alignment between image frames and/or portions of image frames are user specified. According to some embodiment of the present invention, the composite image is constructed in the transform domain, e.g. in a DCT domain. In an exemplary embodiment, construction is performed by appending image data from two or more image frames block by block. One or more operations may be performed on the appended blocks. In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, alignment between frames and/or portions of image frames are determined automatically (e.g. without user intervention) based on common features detected in the image frames. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the composite image is a panoramic image. In some exemplary embodiments, the panoramic image is a substantially seamless panoramic image. In other exemplary embodiments, the panoramic image is a mosaic panoramic image.
An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to defining an alignment in the image domain between a series of image frames and constructing a panoramic image from the series of image frames in a transform domain based on the defined alignment. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the transform domain is a DCT transform domain, e.g. a DCT transform domain typically used in JPEG compression format. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the alignment is defined in real time while capturing the series of image frames to form the panoramic image. According to some embodiments of the present invention, construction and/or stitching of the panoramic image is performed in a post processing procedure based on the defined alignment, e.g. subsequent to saving the series of image frames in a compressed format, e.g. JPEG format. According to some embodiments of the present invention, processing of the image frames in a compressed format is performed in resolution of blocks, e.g. DCT transform blocks.
According to some embodiment of the present invention, interesting features in an image frame near a border to be an overlapping border in the panoramic image is detected in the image domain and the coordinates and/or position of the interesting features are saved and/or recorded. Upon capturing a subsequent image frame, the coordinates of the depicted features is identified in the subsequent image and horizontal as well as vertical shifting between the first and subsequent image, e.g. shifting transformations, is defined. Typically, the image frames included in the panoramic image are full snapshot frames. Optionally the panoramic may include one or more preview images, e.g. lower-resolution image frames.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, a preview image frame corresponding to a captured snapshot image frame is retained in memory in the image domain and used to determine alignment and/or registration between the captured snapshot image frame and a subsequent captured image frame. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the subsequent captured image frame is a snapshot image frame. According to some embodiments of the present invention, alignment between two captured snapshot images is determined based on registration between two corresponding preview image frames corresponding to the two captured snapshot image frames.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, alignment between two image frames included in a panoramic is defined based on alignment between a series of captured image frames where only the first and last image frames of the series are included in the panoramic image. The shift, e.g. horizontal and vertical shift, is defined as the sum total of shifting between each of the image frames in the series. In some exemplary embodiments, the image frames between the first and last image frames are preview images.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, one or more image frames captured in a series may not be included in the panoramic image, e.g. due to quality of the image frames. Optionally, selection of the image frames to be included in the panoramic is performed in real time. Optionally the selection is based on real time detection of the dynamic range of the image and/or the sharpness of the image. Optionally, the size of the panoramic image is defined in real time based on accumulated shift transformation between the selected image frames to be included in the panoramic and saved for use during post processing. Optionally, geometrical projection, e.g. cylindrical projection, spherical projection, and/or lens correction projection is applied on images before shift calculation.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, a substantially seamless panoramic image is constructed from a series of over-lapping image frames. Horizontal and vertical shifting required to stitch image frames is defined in the image domain as described hereinabove. The shifting, e.g. horizontal and/or vertical is defined in number of block shifts, where the block shifts correspond to the block size of the transform domain, e.g. DCT domain used to compress the image frame size. In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, residual shifting, e.g. shifting that is less than a single block size is performed in the image domain, e.g. in real time prior to saving the image frame in a compressed format.
According to some embodiment of the present invention, the image frames are stitched in the transform domain, e.g. in a compressed format in DCT domain. In an exemplary embodiment, an empty image, e.g. an empty image the size of the panoramic image, is defined in the transform domain and each image frame in the series is sequentially added to the empty image in a position based on the defined shifting transformation. Typically, a mask is defined in the transform domain to facilitate stitching the image frames. Optionally, the mask facilitates performing image intensity correction on the image frames. Optionally, the mask facilitates cropping the series of image frames to form a single rectangular image. Optionally, text and/or graphics may be superimposed on the constructed panoramic. Optionally, superimposing the text and/or graphics is facilitated by the defined mask.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the panoramic image is a mosaic including an arrangement of a series of captured images juxtaposed in relation to each other to convey a panoramic effect. In some exemplary embodiments, a mosaic option may be selected when overlap between the series of captured images is insufficient to stitch images, when vertical shift between images is large, when processing power is limited, and/or when a specific graphic affect of a mosaic is desired. According to some embodiments of the present invention, horizontal and vertical shifting required to construct mosaic with a panoramic feel is defined in the image domain as described hereinabove. The shifting is defined in number of block shifts, where the block shifts correspond to the block size of the transform domain. Optionally, required shifting that is less than a single block size is disregarded. Optionally, horizontal and vertical shifting required to construct mosaic with a panoramic feel is defined based on a low pass image constructed from the transform domain, e.g. low pass image constructed from the DC portion of the transform domain.
According to some embodiment of the present invention, the image frames are positioned in a mosaic in the transform domain, e.g. DCT domain, after the image frames have been saved in a compressed format. In an exemplary embodiment, an empty image the size of the panoramic image is defined in the transform domain and each image frame in the series of image frames is sequentially added to the empty image based on the defined shifting transformation. Optionally, a mask on the empty frame defines one or more decorative empty frames and the series of image frames is positioned in the empty spaces of the decorative frames. Optionally, the mask facilitates performing image intensity correction on the image frames. Optionally, text and/or graphics may be superimposed on the mosaic. Optionally, superimposing the text and/or graphics is facilitated by the defined mask. Optionally the image frames may be at least partially stitched, e.g. a section and/or a portion if adjacent images are stitched.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, capturing and constructing the panoramic image is performed on a mobile device including at least a camera to capture images, a processor to construct the panoramic image from a group of captured images, and a memory to store the captured images and the panoramic image. In some exemplary embodiment, a motion tracking device provides feedback to the user on the alignment between the images.
An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to displaying a panoramic image at different zoom levels. According to some embodiments of the present invention, when a user inputs a command to zoom-in a specific area of the panoramic image, one of the original images captured used to construct the panoramic image may be selected for display. The displayed image may be replaced by an alternate image included in the panoramic in reaction to a user panning to a different area in the panoramic image.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method for constructing a composite image, the method comprising determining in an alignment between at least a first and a second image based on the content of the first and second image frames, and combining in a transform domain at least the first and second images with the determined alignment to form a composite image.
Optionally, the composite image is a panoramic image.
Optionally, determining an alignment between at least a first and a second image is performed in the image domain.
Optionally, the transform domain is a DCT transform domain.
Optionally, the alignment includes a horizontal or vertical shift of the second image frame with respect to the first image frame.
Optionally, the horizontal or vertical shift is divided into block shifts and residual shifts.
Optionally, the residual shifts are performed in an image domain prior to transforming the second image to the transform domain.
Optionally, the block shifts are performed in the transform domain.
Optionally, the method comprises detecting in the image domain a location of a common interesting feature in each of the first and second image frame, and determining the alignment based on the location of the interesting feature in each of the first and second image frames.
Optionally, the method comprises performing registration between preview image frames corresponding to the first and second image frames, and determining the alignment between the first and second image frames based on the registration.
Optionally, the method comprises determining alignment between the first and second image frames based on alignment with at least one image frame captured between the first and second image frames.
Optionally, the at least one image frame is a preview image frame.
Optionally, the method comprises recording a size of the composite image based on the alignment.
Optionally, the method comprises determining in an image domain, an intensity level of a captured image frame and selecting the captured image frame for the combining responsive to the determined intensity level.
Optionally, the geometrical transformation is a cylindrical transformation.
Optionally, at least one of the first or second image frames is a full snapshot image frame.
Optionally, the method comprises saving the first and second image frame in a JPEG format.
Optionally, the method comprises defining an empty image frame in the transform domain, and positioning the first and second image frame onto the empty image frame based on the alignment.
Optionally, the method comprises defining a header file with memory allocation, and adding a stream of image data blocks from the first and second image frame to the header file.
Optionally, the method comprises applying a mask in the transform domain to combine the first and second image frame.
Optionally, the mask is a binary mask.
Optionally, the mask is a continuous mask.
Optionally, the mask is a low pass version of a binary mask.
Optionally, the mask is to define a stitching line to combine the first and second image frame in an overlapping region.
Optionally, the stitching line is a curved stitching line.
Optionally, the method comprises detecting a region including a pre-defined pattern and defining a stitching line that circumvents the region.
Optionally, the pre-defined pattern is a face.
Optionally, the method comprises applying a mask configured to correct image intensity differences between the first and second image frame.
Optionally, the mask is configured to correct for vignettes.
Optionally, the method comprises combining in the transform domain a decorative background with the composite image.
Optionally, the method comprises combining in the transform domain text with the composite image.
Optionally, the method comprises combining in the transform domain graphics with the composite image.
Optionally, the method comprises combining decorative frames with the composite image.
Optionally, the panoramic image is a substantially seamless panoramic image.
Optionally, the panoramic image is a mosaic panoramic image frame.
Optionally, the method comprises capturing a plurality of image frames and selecting in the image domain, image frames from the plurality of image frames to be included in the composite image.
Optionally, the selecting is based on a detected intensity level of the image frames.
Optionally, the selecting is based on a detected sharpness level of the image frames.
Optionally, the selecting is based on the alignment between the image frames.
Optionally, the combining is performed in a vertical direction.
Optionally, determining an alignment between at least a first and a second image is performed in the transform domain.
Optionally, the alignment is determined based on a DC portion of the transform domain.
Optionally, the method comprises determining in the transform domain, the intensity level of one of the first and second image frames.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a system for constructing a composite image comprising a camera to capture a series of image frames in an image domain, a storage unit for storing image frames from the series of image frames in a transform domain, and a control unit for generating in a transform domain a composite image from the image frames stored based on a defined alignment between the image frames.
Optionally, the transform domain is a DCT domain.
Optionally, the image frames are stored in JPEG format.
Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine the alignment between the series of image frames.
Optionally, the control unit is configured to perform registration between at least two of the series of image frames.
Optionally, the series of image frames includes preview image frames.
Optionally, the series of image frames includes full snapshot image frames.
Optionally, the control unit is configured to detect a location of a common interesting feature in each of at least two image frames from the series.
Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine an alignment between the at least two image frames based on the detected location in each of the at least two image frames.
Optionally, the system comprises a pattern detection engine configured to detect a feature in at least one of the series of image frames.
Optionally, the system comprises a camera navigation unit configured to perform motion tracking based on image frames or a video stream captured by the camera and wherein the defined alignment is based on data from the motion tracking.
Optionally, the camera navigation unit is to determine when to capture each image frame in the series.
Optionally, the system comprises a user input unit to input user commands.
Optionally, the system is a mobile system.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method for displaying a panoramic image at different zoom levels, the method comprising determining a region in a panoramic image to be displayed in zoom-in mode, selecting an image frame from a plurality of image frames used in constructing the panoramic image when the zoom-in level is above a defined threshold and applying zoom-in to the corresponding region in the selected image frame.
Optionally, the method comprises switching to an alternate image frame when the approaching a region where two image frames are combined.
Optionally, the method comprises displacing a stitching line between combined image frames from a region to be viewed in the zoom-in mode.
Optionally, the threshold is defined as 120 percent magnification.
The subject matter regarded is particularly and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. Non-limiting examples of embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to figures attached hereto, which are listed following this paragraph. In the figures, identical structures, elements or parts that appear in more than one figure are generally labeled with a same symbol in all the figures in which they appear. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
In the following description, exemplary, non-limiting embodiments of the invention incorporating various aspects of the present invention are described. For purposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details presented herein. Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention. Features shown in one embodiment may be combined with features shown in other embodiments. Such features are not repeated for clarity of presentation. Furthermore, some unessential features are described in some embodiments.
Typically, when using known methods to construct a panoramic image, a group, sequence and/or a series of image frames saved in a compressed format, e.g. JPEG format are expanded and brought up in cache memory so that registration between the images may be defined and the stitching between the images may be carried out. Typically, the full uncompressed result image, e.g. panoramic image, as well as templates for printing the image are also brought up on memory before compressing the image. The amount of available memory is a limiting factor in constructing the panoramic image. Available memory in mobile devices including cameras and especially mobile telephones may be limited and/or expensive. The present inventors have found that constructing the panoramic image in the compressed transform domain increases the working limit of available cache memory. The present inventors have also found that pre-determining the alignment in the image domain enables faster post-processing of panoramic images in the transform domain. The present inventors have also found that the maximum size of a panoramic image that can typically be constructed using known methods can be increased when using the methods described herein.
Reference is now made to
Typically the image frames are saved in a JPEG format utilizing the DCT domain. In other exemplary embodiments, a wavelet domain may be utilized. In some exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the captured image frame may be rotated so that stitching is performed in the vertical direction, e.g. rotated in 90 degrees prior to saving. Optionally, the series of images combine in a vertical direction and rotation is not required. Stitching in the vertical direction may improve memory and file management by reducing the number of parallel files/streams that need editing when combining the image frames. Rotating the transformed images allows stitching and/or combining to be performed in the vertical direction, so there is no need to know the final length of the image, or to handle more then two images at a time.
Reference is now made to
In some exemplary embodiments, two frames to be combined may not share a detected overlapping feature, e.g. a detected interesting feature and/or may only partially share a detected overlapping feature so that there may not be enough information to align the images. According to some embodiments of the present invention, one or more preview images and/or snapshot images that are not to be included in the resultant panoramic image are used to determine the alignment between two image frames. For example, in
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According to embodiments of the present invention, a mask is a pixel-wise operation applied to an image. In some exemplary embodiments, for each pixel and/or group of pixels in the image there is a matching value in the mask. A mathematical operation is performed between each element in the mask and the corresponding pixel and/or group of pixels producing a result image. Typically, the resolution of the mask is the same as that of the image. However, while operating in the DCT domain the mask may be used with a pre-defined number of AC coefficients.
Optionally, the stitching line is positioned in an area that does not include faces, so that the stitching line does not run on a face area. Specifically the human eye is very sensitive to distortion in faces, e.g. distortions caused by a stitch. The mask line can be affected by the content of the image to avoid detectable distortions in specific areas of the image. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a pattern detection engine is employed to detect a region including a face or other pre-defined features to determine an area where stitching should be avoided. For example, a face detection engine can be applied so that a stitching line will circumvent the face, e.g. the stitching line will not cross the face. A pattern detection engine may be implemented to detect other content and/or pre-defined features in the image to which the human eye is sensitive to its distortion. In another example, pattern detection can identify a sharp border in a portion of an overlapping region, e.g. high contrast border, along which stitching is desirable. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a pattern detection engine compares the content of overlapping areas to detect an object that moved and avoids doubling the object in the overlapping area. Typically, a stitching line that is not straight, e.g. not based on purely horizontal and vertical segments, is chosen to help hide the seam between the images. Typically, the human eye is sensitive to stitching lines that are straight. Typically content detection of the image is performed in the transform domain using only the first or the first few coefficients in a block of an area to be combined.
Optionally, when combining images to form a substantially seamless panoramic image, in addition to defining a mask to stitch the images, an image intensity correction map is defined to correct for fixed exposure differences between the images and vignette artifacts near the overlapping borders (block 450). The DCT mask for stitching and for image intensity correction is applied to the defined empty mask (block 460) and the sequence of images is incrementally added to the empty image (blocks 460 and 470). The final panoramic image is saved (480). According to some embodiments of the present invention, cropping is performed to the final image after the sequence of images is added to the empty image. According to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, additional masks are defined and applied to the resultant panoramic frame. For example, a mask defining decorative borders, text and/or graphics, or decoration to be added to the resultant image can be defined and applied. Typically all masks are applied in the transform domain, e.g. the DCT domain. Optionally, the resultant panoramic image is rotated 90 degrees in a counter-clockwise direction to restore the image to its original orientation.
Reference is now made to
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According to some embodiments of the present inventions, a series of images are combined to form a mosaic panoramic image. Mosaic panoramic images are one or more image frames that are juxtaposed to provide a wide view of a physical space, e.g. a view that is wider than each of the individual image frames. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the mosaic panoramic image may be a suitable solution for providing panoramic images with mobile platforms especially for amateur users. Typically, stitching snapshot images accurately can be difficult on mobile platforms, requiring high processing capability. Artifacts due to motion parallax, motion of objects in neighboring image frames, as well as lack of proper overlapping area may compromise the quality of the stitching. The present inventors have found that providing mosaic panoramic option avoids these and other typical difficulties and can provide a fun, intriguing result. In addition, printing of high aspect ratio images on standard aspect ratio paper creates large “empty” spaces that are not pleasant when viewing. Mosaics can fill these gaps with graphics and decorative borders. High resolution decorative borders are optionally stored in the transform domain in a compressed format.
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According to some embodiments of the present invention, the methods described herein-above may be applied iteratively to combine more than two image frames. For example, a first and a second source image frame may be combined to form a first new image frame. Subsequently the first new image frame may be combined with a third source image frame using similar methods. This process may be repeated until all the desired image frames are combined.
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According to some embodiments of the present invention, the process described herein above, e.g. in reference to
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the iterative process may be performed on the fly as subsequent image frames are combined. For example, after each image frame is captured it may be combined to the previous image frame and/or an empty image frame concurrently and/or before the following image frame is captured. Alternatively, the processing may be performed off-line.
Typically, operations in the DCT domain or in the transform domain include operation on the bits before and/or after Huffman decoding, before and/or after de-quantization, before and/or after de-triangulation.
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The camera unit 2110 is optionally implemented with an image pickup device or an image sensor such as a charged coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device, for converting optical image into electric signals.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, system 2100 includes a pattern detection engine. The detection can be implemented by software and/or hardware. In one exemplary embodiment, the pattern detection engine is integrated into the control unit 2140. Alternatively, system 2100 is integrated into a processor separate from the processing capability of the control unit.
The video processing unit 2120 can be implemented with an analog-digital converter for the electric signal output from the camera unit 2110 into digital signals as video data.
The input unit 2130 can be implemented with at least one of a keypad, touchpad, and joystick. The input unit 2130 also can be implemented in the form of a touchscreen on the display unit 2150.
The camera navigation unit 2135 may be based on available CaMotion Inc. libraries, Eyemobile Engine software offered by Gesturetek's, or other available camera based tracking engines. The navigation unit may perform motion tracking on the basis of images and/or video stream captured by the camera unit 2110.
Reference is now made to
It should be further understood that the individual features described hereinabove can be combined in all possible combinations and sub-combinations to produce exemplary embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, not all elements described for each embodiment are essential. In some cases such elements are described so as to describe a best mode for carrying out the invention or to form a logical bridge between the essential elements. The examples given above are exemplary in nature and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the following claims.
The terms “include”, “comprise” and “have” and their conjugates as used herein mean “including but not necessarily limited to”.
Sorek, Noam, Bregman-Amitai, Orna
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